2026 Percy-Synar Awards Ceremony

A catered in-person reception will follow the ceremony.

Awards Ceremony: 2-3:15pm PST

Reception: 3:15-4pm PST

Join us as we congratulate the 2026 recipients of the Charles H. Percy Undergraduate Grant for Public Affairs Research and the Mike Synar Graduate Research Fellowship. Student awardees will offer brief presentations of their research projects.

The Charles H. Percy Undergraduate Grant for Public Affairs Research 2026 Recipients

Sabrina Hemedez Avenido (Asian American and Asian Diaspora Studies): “Utang na Loob: A Family Affair into Civic Engagement Education in Filipino American Families”

Karla Vicencio Ramirez (Sociology & Legal Studies): “What Psychological and Socioeconomic Factors Contribute to Young Latine Adults’ Civic and Political Participation in California?”

Abigail Francisco (Political Science/Rhetoric): “Scripture and the Welfare State: How Christian Rhetoric Influences Social Welfare Attitudes Among Americans”

Helia Moeini (Political Science; Minor: Intended Politics): “Calculus of Compromise: Analyzing Legislative Behavior in the Shadow of Constant Media Scrutiny”

The Mike Synar Graduate Research Fellowship 2026 Recipients

Andrea Lara-Garcia (Geography): “Who Owns the Border? Property and the Politics of Belonging in the Arizona and Texas Borderlands”

John Konicki (Political Science): “Ideological Resentment: The Role of Asymmetric Grievances in Conservative Politics”

Sarah Merchant (Sociology): “The Muslim Left in the Metropole: Islamic Theology and Progressive Politics in New York City”

About the Awards:

Each year, the Institute of Governmental Studies awards up to four Charles H. Percy research grants in the amount of $1,000 each to U.C. Berkeley undergraduate students who are conducting research on an aspect of American politics, including public opinion, electoral behavior, civic participation, government institutions, social movements, and public policy. Students from a broad range of disciplines are encouraged to apply.

The Institute also awards three Mike Synar Graduate Research Fellowships of $3,000 each. The Synar Fellowship is awarded to distinguished UC Berkeley graduate students who are writing their dissertations on an aspect of American politics, which may include comparative research across nations with the United States as a major case.

The Percy Grants and Synar Fellowships are made possible by a generous donation from the late William Brandt and his wife, Patrice Bugelas-Brandt. These fellowships were created to honor Congressman Mike Synar of Oklahoma, a Democrat who represented the Second District in northeast Oklahoma from 1979-1995, and Senator Charles H. Percy of Illinois for whom Patrice worked as a press secretary.

**THE CEREMONY IS A HYBRID EVENT THAT WILL BE ACCESSIBLE TO ATTEND VIRTUALLY VIA ZOOM**

This is an accessible event. If you are a disabled person and need reasonable accommodations to participate they will be provided. For more information, and to make a request, please contact Ezra Bristow at ZXpyYWJyaXN0b3cgfCBiZXJrZWxleSAhIGVkdQ==

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